Zelhem is a town in the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
province of
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
. It has approximately 11,000 inhabitants. Zelhem is located in the municipality of
Bronckhorst
Bronckhorst () is a municipality in Gelderland, the Netherlands. The municipality is the result of a merger of the former municipalities Hengelo, Hummelo en Keppel, Steenderen, Vorden and Zelhem, on 1 January 2005. The municipality is named a ...
, about 7 km northeast of
Doetinchem.
Zelhem was a separate municipality until 2005, when it became a part of Bronckhorst.
The municipality used to cover an area of 81.89 km
2.
History
The village is more than 1200 years old. The modern name Zelhem originated from Salehem. This name was given to the village when a chapel was built and a gift-document was presented to the inhabitants.
The name Salehem comes from two words 'Sale' which means 'house' and 'heim' which means 'place where people are home'.
The founder of this chapel was a passionate preacher called Liudger. He brought religion to the land of the Saksen. Between 1450 and 1500 the church as we know it was built. It was dedicated to
St. Lambertus,
bishop of Maastricht
The Diocese of Maastricht (Latin Traiectum ad Mosam) was a Roman Catholic jurisdiction in parts of present Netherlands (including the see Maastricht) and Belgium, which has been nominally revived as a Latin titular bishopric.
History
Establishe ...
in the time of Ludger (hence the name 'Lambertikerk').
The myth of Smoks Hanne
The village also has a myth of 'Smoks Hanne'. She lived in Zelhem somewhere in the nineteenth century. Nowadays she's pictured as a good witch flying on a broom. The funny part is that Smoks Hanne only has one clog (on her left foot) and the broom she's flying on is backwards. It is assumed that Smoks Hanne lost her clog during flight. Unfortunately there's not much information about this old lady. But when the village celebrated its 1200th anniversary, the theme was all about her.
People born in Zelhem
*
Hedzer Rijpstra (1919-2011), politician
*
Jan Remmelink (1922–2003), jurist
*
Leo Klein Gebbink (born 1968), hockey player
References
External links
Information about ZelhemOud Zelhem (historical information about Zelhem)Link collection on Zelhem
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2005
Populated places in Gelderland
Former municipalities of Gelderland
Bronckhorst